Hypnophobia
by NuclearParadise
Summary: Matthew Williams is one of the best psychiatrists in town, priding himself in his work. But when a little Russian boy with a strange fear comes into his office, his skills are put to the ultimate test. No real pairings
1. A short little visit

**A/N I'm on a role today, so I thought that I'd make another Fic to work on. C:**

**Please, Enjoy~**

Matthew sat in his office, scribbling down some notes on his notepad. He stuck the end of his pen under his upper lip as he thought. The whole page was full of earlier observations from his patients. His current occupation always had him busy, always thinking. Matthew was a psychiatrist for both children and adults having trouble coping with earlier tragedies. It made him happy to help them, feeling and healing their pain. The human mind was a beautiful thing that could easily be corrupted and not so easily fixed. For him, it was a natural calling. His brother used to be one of his patients, having an issue with bullying in school. After a few months of counseling, he had him back to his usually bright and enthusiastic self. He would never forget his brother's goofy smile as he walked out his office door.

Now all he had to do was write down a few more notes on his last patient and then he can take a lunch brake. He could almost taste his special blueberry pancake lunch he saved from that morning. His eyes focused back on the words he was writing, and his hand began to move.

Not even five minutes later, when he was about to finish his work, his phone rang. Matthew cleared his throat and set his pen down before picking it up and setting it by his ear. "Dr. Williams speaking." He answered.

On the other end his secretary spoke with a cheerful tone. "There's a Mrs. Irunya Braginsky here to see you, do you want me to send her in?"

Matthew raised a brow, turning his wheeled chair so he could glance over at his schedule hanging on the wall. In neat cursive writing over the three o' clock spot was the same name mentioned. He nodded, and leaned back over his desk. "Yes, please send her in."

"Ok, she will be there shortly." The woman hung up without another word, signalling for Matthew to do the same. He hung up and picked up his pen to finish the last few words on his observation. In his mind, he wondered what the woman would be like, he hadn't seen her yet after talking to her on the phone. She had told him something about her son and how he was behaving strangely and acting lethargic. He could already guess that it was probably something about school, as his brother had that problem as well. But he knew that he couldn't rule out some of the other possibilities, or else he may misdiagnose the poor thing.

Matthew quietly got out of his chair, and walked over to his bookshelf full of folders and thick hardcover books. His eyes skimmed over them, inspecting each letter, until he landed on the "B" section. He bent over and looked through them closer, taking a moment before pulling out a thin manila folder. A small smile spread across his face when he read the name. "Ivan Braginsky" He had made a new folder after the boy's mother called, keeping to his neat and organized tendencies.

A sudden knocking sound drew his violet gaze over towards his door, causing him to close the file and stride over to his desk. "Come in." His voice wasn't so loud, but it was heard and that's all he was aiming for. There was a short pause before his knob turned and the wooden door creaked open. A deep blue eye peeked inside, before the door opened a bit more to reveal a busty woman with short silvery hair. She had a meek smile on her face as she entered, a small shadow following after her.

"Good morning Mr. Williams." She glanced down behind her and whispered something quickly, turning back to face the Canadian.

Matthew nodded his head and smiled. "A good morning indeed, how are you doing Mrs. Braginsky?" She strode over and sat in the chair sitting in front of his desk. The small boy that came in with her followed close behind, hiding behind her chair. Matthew looked a bit puzzled, but shrugged and peered at the woman in front of him.

"Just fine, thank you. I'm sure you know why I'm here, right?" She smiled, trying to hide her nervousness. The blonde male nodded in understanding, blinking over at the back of her chair.

"You can come out Ivan, I'm not going to hurt you." His voice was gentle and had reassuring properties.

The shadow behind Irunya's chair shifted and a soft whimper came from it. Matthew's lips pulled into a soft frown.

"Oh, I'm sorry about him, he's just very easily spooked." Irunya turned around to face the small boy, speaking in hushed Russian.

"That's ok, take as long as you need." He watched them interact, getting a quick glimpse of the boy's face. He was pudgy with dark purple eyes and beige hair. Judging by the way he acted, Matthew could guess that he was very shy like himself.

Irunya held her hand down for the boy to grasp it, a light frown on her face. "It's ok Ivan, Mr. Williams won't hurt you."

Matthew tilted his head as the boy gripped his mothers hand and inched forward nervously. He was taken aback by the sheer severity of his health. Ivan's eyes were wide with fear, dark circles rounding them like a raccoon's, and his skin was a pasty white, deathly even. The poor thing looked as if he had seen a ghost. He stared up at Matthew with huge terror-filled eyes, a frown on his face. "M-mama, I see the _thing_ again..." Ivan whispered, his eyes focusing past Matthew's head. This definitely drew his attention and raised a few red flags. What did the boy mean by "_thing?"_

He played along to see if he could get any more information. His head swiveled to look at the light-green wall behind him. He looked back at Ivan with a questioning brow. "What does this... thing look like Ivan?"

Ivan's eyes didn't move from where they were, his frown deepening. "What do you mean? Can't you see it? It's right there." He lifted a pudgy finger up to point at the clearly empty wall. Matthew glanced over there again, and shook his head.

"No, but could you describe him for me?" He quickly glanced over towards Irunya and made a gesture for her to go back into the other room for a minute.

Irunya nodded her head quickly, understanding shining in her eyes. "O-ok... I will be back Ivan, you just tell Matthew here what it is that has been bothering you." She stood up and waved towards her son, who was too preoccupied with the wall to notice. Her face pulled into a worried frown and she left through the door. It made a click, and Ivan quickly glanced over, frightened by the sudden sound.

Matthew stood up from his chair and knelt by the boy's side. "It's ok Ivan, there's nothing coming to get you."

The Russian boy kept staring at the wall, unsurely moving his vision over to Matthew. "He doesn't like me..." He frowned sadly, looking down at the ground. Matthew leaned closer and set his hand on his shoulder gently.

"Who doesn't like you?" _"__He must be hallucinating, that would explain the dark circles around his eyes." _He looked down at the ground where Ivan was currently facing.

Ivan looked up with a frown. "The _thing_, he doesn't leave me alone!"

"Have you told him to go away?" Matthew whispered.

"Da, but he doesn't stop! When I try to nap like Mama tells me to, he always claws at my blankets! I-I try to be a good boy and nap, but he wont let me!" A tear formed in the corner of his eye and his breathing quickened.

Matthew pulled him into a hug for comfort, rubbing his back. Ivan hiccuped as more tears began to roll down his face. He picked him up and carried him over to the small table sitting in the corner of his room. There were colorful toys and sheets of paper decorating the whole area. He had a small section for children to help them feel more comfortable while they were here. Sitting him down in a plastic red chair, he made sure that Ivan was comfortable.

"It's ok Ivan, he wont get you. I'll make sure of that." He lifted the boy's chin with a finger, smiling in an effort to make the boy cheer up the slightest bit.

Ivan sniffled, but did not seem to look any happier, forcibly looking down at his boots. "He doesn't like it when people are nice to me. He said that he would hurt me if I tried to get away from him." He mumbled, sinking deep into the pinkish scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.

Matthew looked a bit confused and concerned, but he smiled none-the-less. "Well I'm not afraid, he's just going to have to get through me." He fixed a loose piece of hair hanging in the boy's face, trying to get his attention.

Ivan looked up at him with dark depressed eyes. "But if you can't see him, he wont go after you.."A moment of silence followed. Matthew slowly blinked, taking in all of the information he was given.

_"This one may take a while." _"We don't have to talk about him anymore if you like, Ivan." He offered, seeing as the boy was shaking violently and looked to be on the brink of crying again.

The Russian boy played with the end of his scarf for a moment, nodding his head slowly. "Mr. Williams?"

Matthew tilted his head. "Yes? You can call me Matthew by the way."

"Erm... Matthew, can... can I please go home? I don't really like it here." He seemed a little uncomfortable, which Matthew could easily understand.

He nodded his head. "Yes, you can go home for today."

Ivan reached his hand up, opening his palm for Matthew to take. He did so with a small smile. He led him over to the door and opened it, taking him through the hallway and back to the waiting room. Ivan's mother Irunya sat on the end, a health magazine in her hands.

"Mама!" The little boy called, letting go of Matthew's hand to race to his mother's side. Irunya looked up from the article she was currently reading and to her son, a smile lighting her face. She scooped him up in a hug and stood up with her purse slumped up over her shoulder.

"How was your first visit to Mr. Williams?" She asked, her enthusiasm radiating like sunlight. Ivan didn't answer, looking a bit unnerved with the word "first" being mentioned.

"He did very well, I hope to see him very soon." Matthew peeked over the woman's shoulder to wave to Ivan, who ignored him. He could also understand that, not every child enjoyed their first visit to his office as the first few visits were filled with pain and memories. There must always be a little pain before the healing can begin, even for little kids like Ivan.

"Thank you Mr. Williams, we will be back in a week to try again." She nodded. "Say goodbye to the nice man, Vanya."

"Do svidaniya..." Ivan said, sounding a bit detached.

Matthew waved again, watching Irunya leave through the door again, her doing the same. He let out a long sigh and smiled towards his secretary. "Do you have his medical records from his doctor? I might need to take a look at those before lunch." He wouldn't be able to eat until he read into his new patient a little further.

"I'll print them out for you, go have lunch, you look like you need it." She nodded towards him as she spoke. "I'll have them on your desk in a few minutes."

"Thank you, Elizabeta." Matthew turned around and retreated back to his office to eat his lunch in peace. _"__Hopefully the next visit will be more productive. I really have to get him comfortable here if I am to help him through this..."_

**A/N Translations: Do Svidaniya (до свидания) =Goodbye**

**More chapters will follow dear readers! I apologize if it may be slow, my brain is everywhere. I don't own anything hetalia related! (the cover included, I just thought it fit perfectly)**


	2. Winter

Matthew sat at his desk, a plastic fork in one hand and a pen in the other. His half eaten lunch sat next to him, neglected for the past fifteen minutes. He couldn't help but become engrossed in his new patient's file. It helped him to better imagine what it was like through their eyes, and ultimately to cure them. His violet-blue eyes skimmed over the page, reading the symptoms described by Ivan's doctor.

"Confusion, Drowsiness, Sudden states of panic, irregular heartbeat, hallucinations, slowed reactions..." The list went on.

"Hmmm..." Matthew twirled the pen in between his fingers, thinking. _"It has to be some sort of sleep disorder. This is much more than what I thought it was." _He glanced over towards the small photo of the boy, clearly seeing his sickly image. _"It can't be because of his transition between Russia and America, it says he's had this problem back home too..." _His mind raced, going over multiple explanations and afflictions. Matthew dismissively picked a piece of blueberry pancake from his plate and held it on his fork, still staring down at the papers. "Chronic Insomnia?" He guessed out loud, taking a bite of his meal. "_Ivan had complained about not being able to sleep..."_

There was a sudden weight on his shoulder, feeling much like a hand. Mattie tensed up and glanced behind himself with a confused expression. "_Who?"_ He saw his wall, decorated heavily in pictures drawn by his patients. No other signs of life. He raised a brow, chewing his food slowly in confusion. Hesitantly, he turned back to his work, his body relaxing slightly.

"I must be imagining things." He let out a low sigh and continued to survey his work. _"Too many late nights I suppose." _Gently, he rested his head down on his desk to think. He closed his eyes to block out the harsh sunlight filling his room. _"__I don't have another appointment until five, maybe some rest will help me think better." _He sighed, allowing himself to tumble into the darkness of sleep.

He opened his eyes again to find himself back in his office. The room was silent except for the clock hung above his head on the wall. _Tick... tock... tick... tock... tick... tock..._

"_You are so close."_ A voice echoed in his head, coming from all directions. The temperature in the room plummeted, chills running up his spine.

Fear began to crawl up in his chest. "Wha-" He could feel a ghostly touch of a finger to his lips. His eyes widened, this wasn't happening... He had to be dreaming still.

_"Shhh."_ There seemed to be another presence in the room, but he couldn't pinpoint it's exact location. "Don't speak, or you will be making much louder sounds." The voice was masculine, sounding ancient. Matthew closed his eyes tight, trying to awaken from this terrible dream beginning to unfold before him. _"It is not your place to 'help' him, he wished this upon himself. Leave us be, or you will be sorry."_ The voice had a rugged edge to it, the ghostly touch wrapping it's self around the bottom of his chin. Matthew didn't understand what this 'phantom' was warning him about. He certainly didn't know anyone who would ask of such things from him. His chin tingled as the invisible touch ran along the surface of his skin, feeling about ten degrees colder than the room around him.

_"Just wake up already! Please!"_ he pleaded mentally.

_"You can only wish that this was just a dream." _The chilling touch tightened until Matthew felt it break skin. He made a pained whimper, drawing his head back suddenly.

"W-hat do you want from me!?" He begged desperately.

_"I want you to keep your miserable mouth shut! That pathetic child cannot be saved, and you know it! Give up while you still can, or I will make sure that your body is lost beneath the endless tundra of ice and snow!" _The voice faded, bringing with it the cold and the painful touch. Matthew sat stunned for a few more moments, not daring to open his eyes still. There was a soft sound, almost like that of footsteps. He peeked his eye open, his face still pulled into a fearful frown. The room had grown dark, twilight spilling through his only window. At first he felt neutrally the same, guessing that he had woken up, until he realized.

"W-wait, it was the afternoon when I was working a few moments ago..." His eyes flicked from the window over to the space in front of his desk, another rustling sound pulling his attention. He almost jumped from his seat in surprise.

Ivan stood in front of his desk, his gloved hands clasped together at his lap. He was still, his amethyst eyes staring unblinking into his own. A chill ran up his spine, the child looked exactly as he had when he visited last, sickly and fatigued. Ivan released his grip on one hand and slowly raised it up to his face, he made a shushing gesture with a finger to his lips. He was frowning.

Matthew's muscles stiffened, what was going on!? Before he could say anything more, Ivan turned around and made his way through his office door. He couldn't do anything but stare, uncertainty clouding his mind. _"This can't be real... This can't be real..."_

His eyes snapped open and he threw his head up. He gasped loudly, his heart pounding in fear. Matthew quickly looked over the room for any angry spirits or little Russian children. The afternoon sun shone brightly through his window, brightening up the room. He let out a relieved sigh, all of his muscles relaxing.

"It was just a dream..." He breathed shakily, holding his hand to his forehead. _"It felt so real." _The feeling of those freezing invisible fingers, the little boy standing before his desk, it was so realistic. Even though he knew it was a dream, he still felt a bit on edge.

Matthew glanced down at the surface of his desk, fully calmed. In front of him sat his scattered files, his pen resting on the corner of the page. A pool of blueish black ran from a crack in his pen, staining the papers a few centimeters into the corner.

"Crap!" He stood up from his chair, picking up the dripping utensil. "What happened while I was asleep?" Matthew hurried out of the room to go get some paper towels, a frown tugging at his lips. Hopefully he hadn't slept for too long, he still had a few more patients that afternoon.

* * *

Ivan sat on his wooden swing hanging from the tree in his mother's front yard, rocking sluggishly back and forth. His legs dangled down, but did not touch the ground. He allowed it come to a stop, his eyes trained on the ground below. It was autumn, winter would be coming soon. He didn't like winter, and winter didn't like him. Whenever the terrible season came, it always brought with it more frequent hallucinations and terrors. He wanted so dearly for everyone else to see the thing, but it never showed itself when they glanced his way. It confused and saddened him. His mother thought he was crazy, he knew it even if she wouldn't dare say it. The children at school would make fun of him for his unfavorable companion. They teased him and pushed him around, telling him to make 'the thing' appear. He couldn't just make him appear, the thing did as he pleased. Sometimes he wished that the thing would leave him alone and go mess with one of them instead. But then again, no one deserved this torment.

As if by the mere thought of it, the thing appeared, holding onto the rope of his swing. Even if he expected it this time, Ivan could still feel a jolt of fear pass through him.

_"What's wrong child? You look down." _The shadowy figure rounded him, his inky black cloak streaking behind him. Ivan looked up at him with huge terrified eyes. It was the image of an old man, his graying hair swept back behind his ears to show two piercing blue eyes. His face was wrinkled with age and anger, a terrible frown pulling at his ancient lips. _"You didn't really think that I would show myself to just anyone, did you? That man isn't a wizard or sorcerer from your storybooks, he is just a miserable excuse for a doctor. He couldn't even patch up a scratch."_

"Mama said that he's supposed to heal my head, not my body." Ivan said innocently, earning a raspy laugh from the old man.

_"So you're actually going to listen to her now? When was she ever right about these things? What about the past seven 'head doctors'? Weren't they supposed to help you?" _The figure knelt down to look him directly in the face.

Ivan closed his eyes and shook his head. "Mama said that he was different."

_"Oh? Different you say? How is that?" _The thing smiled mockingly. _"What does this one do? Part his hair differently? Or does he actually have some hope in you?"_

Ivan's frown deepened. "He can get rid of you."

The air surrounding them dropped in temperature drastically. The old man narrowed his eyes angrily. _"You will never get rid of me. I am part of you."_ His voice chilled Ivan's bones, sending shivers down his spine.

"N-no you're not." Ivan choked out, feeling his throat tighten in fear.

The man tisked with a mocking smirk. _"Keep telling yourself that boy, but the longer you do the harder it will be to accept me."_

Ivan shook his head, a tear running down his cheek. "J-just leave me alone!"

_"It will be my pleasure, crybaby." _He poked him playfully in the nose and evaporated in the chilly autumn air, his eyes the last thing to disappear.

Ivan sniffled and hugged himself in an effort to calm down. He hated winter, hated, hated, hated it. After a few moments he decided that he didn't want to stay outside any longer and walked inside.

As usual his mother was standing in front of the stove with a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. When he passed by he heard her humming along with some random pop song coming from her radio. She turned her head to smile at him. "Hello Vanya, did you have fun outside?"

Ivan wanted to tell her everything, to hug her and have her tell him it was all okay, but he knew what she would think. He was crazy, that's why he was forced to go to psychiatrist after psychiatrist in hopes of being cured.

"Da." He said simply, walking lazily to the dining room table. Slumping down in a chair, he rested his head on the papers strewn out across it's surface. He made sure to keep his eyes open, he didn't want to see that rotten old man's wrinkly face.

Irunya came into the room with bowl held carefully in her hands. "Do you want help with your homework?" She asked, setting the bowl beside his head.

Her eyes traveled to the paper under his head labeled "Math: Adding and Subtracting"

Ivan grumbled. "No, thanks." He yawned, and rubbed his eyes to stay awake.

His mother sat down across from him, a concerned frown on her face. It was hard for her to see him like this, always tired and depressed. She reached over and tapped his head. "Don't you at least want to eat dinner? It's your favorite, borscht." She tried her best to cheer him up, a warm smile on her face.

He picked up his head and blinked towards her. A frown pulled at his lips and he shook his head. "I'm not hungry." He set his head back down on the table.

Irunya frowned with a little sigh. "Are you alright dear? You seem troubled."

Ivan didn't answer, his eyes flicking to the wall to his side. He almost jumped when his shadow danced around, growing taller and darker. It opened it's eyes and a wicked smile stretched across it's face. _"Yes, what is the trouble?" _

He whined and closed his eyes tight. "Please, go away!"

Irunya blinked, shocked at his sudden request. She stared at him for a moment. "Vanya? Are you ok?"

"S-stay away from me! P-please!" He begged, shrinking into his chair.

His mother pushed her chair back silently, standing up to leave. She turned around and left the room, disappearing into the kitchen.

Ivan crawled under the table and hugged his knees close to his chest. "I-I didn't tell her! I promise!"

_"Tell her what? That your afraid to sleep because mean ol' Winter might get you?" _The shadow formed into the old man, an almost friendly smile on his face.

He whimpered and held his hands on his head. "You're mean!"

_"It's getting worse..." _Irunya picked up the phone sitting on the kitchen counter and glanced over to the piece of paper taped to the wall. She dialed the number on the bottom of the list and waited for them to pick up. Every second felt like forever as Ivan murmured hysterically in the other room.

"Hello, Dr. William's office." A female voice answered on the other end.

Irunya nervously tapped the counter top. "Uh, hello, this is Mrs. Braginsky, I came in earlier with my son. I'd like to reschedule his appointment for tomorrow, if that is possible."

There was the clicking of a keyboard and a few papers rustled. "Okay, we can get you in tomorrow at..." The woman paused. "Nine o' clock. Would you like me to put you in?"

She gave a relieved smile. "Yes, thank you."

"You're welcome~! We'll be seeing you then." The woman sounded cheery.

Irunya sighed as she glanced over the corner at the dining room. "Alright, we'll be there. Thank you." She clicked the phone off and set it down, sighing again. Ivan's hushed voice traveled over, making her feel even more concerned. _"I hope Mr. Williams can help..."_

She walked back into the dinning room and searched around for her son. It had strangely become silent and that worried her even more. "Vanya? Are... are you ok sweetie?" A little whimper came from under the table, informing her of his location. Irunya quietly and calmly knelt down onto her knees, glancing over at the small boy. Ivan was huddled in the fetal position, sobbing. She closed her eyes solemnly and inched over. He moved over to huddle into her, shaking violently. She wrapped her arms around him protectively, pushing the side of his head to her chest. He cried louder, clinging to her shirt for dear life. Irunya petting his head tenderly, whispering comforting words in Russian. "It'll be ok, I'm here. You're safe, the monsters wont hurt you anymore."

Ivan looked up to her face, his eyes huge and gleaming with a mixture of fear and paranoia. "M-Mama d-do you think I'm c-crazy?" He hiccuped.

Irunya shook her head, frowning sadly. "No, of course not."

He looked back down at the ground, unconvinced. "Mmhmm..."

She leaned down and kissed the top of his head, rocking the both of them gently. "It'll all be over soon, I promise."

Ivan hoped it was true, glancing over to his shadow wearily. It had returned to normal, outlining his form almost perfectly.

They were both putting all of their hope into Matthew, for if he failed Ivan may have to have more serious help. Neither him nor his mom wanted to resort to such unpleasant things.

**A/N Holy crap guys, I'm SO sorry for the late update! I will make sure that this will be updated at least every other week. (If not sooner that is.)**


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